Timeline: Present
Point of View: Claudia & Ralph
Location: Earth (Rest Stop in Indiana)
The sun was bright outside the rest area window, reflecting brightly off of the car windshield outside. Ralph and Claudia stood staring, both of them not overly eager to get back on the road.
“We’re over halfway there,” Claudia said. “Only five hours left.” What she didn’t say was that the drive from yesterday would have also normally been only five hours, yet had taken them an entire day. They were getting closer to the coast now, too. How soon before they caught up to the onslaught of the creatures?
Ralph only nodded his head, regretting their choice to leave his apartment. He could be sitting there now, waiting this out. Yet, it was entirely possible that that would have been a risk, too, wasn't it? Sure, maybe the popolacs wouldn’t return to the cities they’d already plundered, maybe he’d be safe inside his room for quite some time. But what if they did return? What if they could sense him in there, hiding? He felt like crying at the thought. Where on Earth could be considered safe anymore?
He’d checked the internet already that morning, lying on the floor after waking up. Some of the news sites were no longer updating their content, and reception in the area wasn’t great. However, he was able to see that the creatures were already into Canada and Mexico. They hadn’t reached the West coast, yet, but they’d swept through Arizona and Nevada, and California was preparing for the attack. There were reports that the grave diggers were swarming in Arizona, favoring the sandy desert. There were ariel videos in the day time of jets sweeping the area around Las Vegas. Doing what? Nobody knew. There were still no signs of the creatures in the day, only the decimation they left in their wake during the night.
The military was still attempting to fight back in the night, and Ralph thought he’d felt some of the missile impacts from far away as they'd slept (or attempted to). He hadn’t mentioned this to Claudia, laying their silently, wondering if those soft rumbles were explosions against the Earth from humans, or the subtle quakes left behind by the worms traversing their new home. They had seen some of the aircraft overhead that morning. It was a wave of them, flying west (at least he thought they were). Were they going back into the wreckage to look for survivors? Reinforce the East? Refuel at some hidden base? Ralph didn’t know enough about the military to say for certain. It didn’t matter. In a few days, if not less, there would be no more military. There were too many creatures from the red planet sweeping through too quickly.
Ralph considered how that was even possible. The US had over 300 million people. How big was the US military? 1-2 million people at least? How many popolacs and grave diggers could be pouring out of those portals each night to be plundering the states as quickly as they were? Maybe it was combination of things. Humanity was caught with their pants down, not ready to face something unexpected that had come from within. He also wondered how many of the millions of people had been killed. Those details weren’t available, and neither was their much information at all about how many of the creatures had been killed.
He thought back to that first popolac that had started this whole thing. It had come to Earth unexpectedly. It had likely also been unarmed, unprepared. It had still murdered five police officers before they had managed to kill it. How exactly had they killed it? And did the hive mind learn from that encounter, did it fortify itself in some way to make it more resistant to human tactics?
“Ralph.”
Ralph turned to face Claudia. She’d been speaking to him, he could see, but he hadn’t been listening to her. He was finding it easy to become lost in his thoughts these days.
“Mitchell messaged. Here.” She handed him the phone.
> They’re here. We managed to survive by moving into an underground bunker. Are you still alive? Let me know where you’re at and how close you are. We still have electricity, but we can’t plan for that to continue much longer. It’s clear that the creatures have won or will win soon. Lots of firepower all through the night from the military. Charleston is decimated. Be careful as you get closer.
Jesus, Ralph thought. The US, and likely much of the world, had fallen to an otherworldly race within a week. By next week, how many of us would even be left? Was the Earth even worth saving? He looked up at Claudia, eyes wide in horror.
“Claudia,” he said, “I think we should consider just getting the fuck out of Dodge. I mean, is any of this even worth it? By the end of the week, what will be left to save?”
Claudia was quiet for a time, thinking about how she’d respond. She, too, had been battling the same thoughts. Yet she felt a certain obligation, a certain responsibility, and knew, in some way, that maybe this was her destiny. Claudia had read somewhere that modern generations were losing touch with a sense of social duty. The world had gotten so stable, so safe, that certain luxuries had become expected. As the population normalized to this new world, they became more complacent, more self-centered. The concept of social duty was dying. She could feel it within herself, that selfish want to run away and save herself. But the world had given her 21 years of peace, so to speak, and it was her turn to return the favor for future generations.
“I think we need to accept that the way things were are gone forever," Claudia said. "There’s no going back, you're right. There’s no saving what once was. But if we don’t do something to stop this, to save whatever remains once this is done, then humanity dies completely. No bouncing back. Are you okay with that, knowing we could have done something, did nothing, and humanity simply ended because of it?”
Ralph only nodded his head without speaking his dissent. Claudia knew the man still wanted to run, but like Lisa so long ago, he’d reached a point where he’d follow her wherever she directed him to go. As Lisa entered her mind, she realized how much she missed the woman, and it nearly broke her. She pushed through it, not allowing Ralph visibility into any weakness.
“Did you write back?” He asked.
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“Not yet. I’ll tell him now that we should be there before night fall.”
Ralph only nodded his head.
Ten minutes later they were back in the car and back on the road, weaving between stopped vehicles once more. They passed through Indianapolis in silence. It was more of the same carnage, and neither had any more words to speak on it. Ralph did take note, however, that not all of the destruction appeared to be from the popolac creatures. A good number of the buildings that had been reduced to rubble appeared to have been impacted by friendly fire. Humanity was beginning to use bigger weaponry when fighting back. He tried not to think about the possibility that a missile might land on or near them at any moment.
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They reached Cincinnati just after noon, and Claudia thought they were making good time.
Ralph, however, made note of how recent the gore around them appeared to have been made. No longer were the bodies dried and rotting. The corpses plastered against buildings here were still bright red, the blood still wet.
As they crossed the Big Mac bridge (Ralph had never heard of it, but signs indicated it was a historical landmark), Ralph saw what seemed to be a red tint in the water below. There were no bodies down there that he could see, no flat canvases for the popolacs to paint with human blood, but it seemed everywhere across the US was now being tainted with red.
A building collapsed nearby as they crossed into Kentucky, a big plume of dust and concrete debris wafting up into the air and blinding them momentarily as they passed through.
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The next few hours they drove along highway 9 through Kentucky, and Ralph was thankful that this area was a more rural stretch. There were no signs of battle here, and things almost felt as if they’d returned to normal. He and Claudia were on nothing more than the classic American drive cross country, taking in the sights. There were rows and rows of trees along their sides, no cars.
They reached a small town, and Ralph found himself hopeful that the people here had escaped. They stopped at a gas station to refuel, and Ralph’s optimism was crushed. There was no one working the till, the building quiet.
Spread up against a small, old church building they later passed were the split bodies of some of the locals.
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Highway 9 turned into I-64, and they were in their final stretch. The sky was becoming a dark orange, and they still hadn’t seen a single living person. They had seen, however, a higher number of fighter jets flying overhead, this time heading east. They were getting closer to the dreaded front lines. Ralph wondered what the military was doing in the day along those lines. Did they try to return back the way the creatures had come? Were they trying to close the portals when they saw them?
Did they even know that the portals existed?
“Message Mitchell,” Claudia said, pulling him from his thoughts.
“Why?”
“We need to know where to go once we hit Charleston. He said they were in any underground bunker, didn’t he? We need to know where that is.”
Yes, right, Ralph thought. Claudia’s eyes remained fixed on the road ahead. She seemed alert, possibly a little on edge. She was just as scared as he was, but he knew she’d never admit it.
Ralph took out his phone and logged into his Reddit account. They’d been sharing the same account across both phones, Claudia not having an account of her own. He located Mitchell’s message and typed in a quick response stating their relative closeness, that they were passing a small town called Grayson and would be then within the next hour or two.
The response back was quick, giving an address, some nearby landmarks, and noting where to find the door to the underground bunker. Again Mitchell reiterated to be careful. He said the day had been quiet, and they hadn’t seen anyone else outside. He asked not to park too close to the bunker. “The fuckers are smart,” he said, “If they see the car, they’re going to search the area. If it’s dark when you get here, stay the night somewhere else and good luck. Do not approach the bunker at dark.”
Ralph relayed the information to Claudia and she looked into the horizon, noting the sun’s fast descent. She wasn’t entirely sure they’d make it before dark. Would they find a place to stay that night? The creatures were closer here, having just swept the city the night before. Would they be safe above ground? Would they raid the buildings again the next day, or would they have already moved on to the next city? She found herself shaking, getting so close yet still feeling so far away.
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They reached Charleston as the sky began it’s shift from red to purple. Claudia parked the vehicle two blocks from where Mitchell noted the bunker to be. They were on the outskirts of town, and the homes here had large lots. Would they be safe inside one of those houses? It felt too exposed. The one closest to them was a tall white farmhouse style home. What must have been an elderly woman at one time was dripping alongside the side of the home.
“He said the find somewhere else to stay at night,” Ralph said, “I think we’re too late.”
“We don’t have a choice,” Claudia replied. “Do you want to risk staying in one of these homes at night after the creatures just swept the city?” In the distance, they heard an artillery shot and a large explosion. The night sky in that direction lit up in a bright shade of light. It didn’t seem to be coming from in town, but it was clearly close.
“Fuck!” Ralph screamed, covering his head.
“Shut the fuck up,” Claudia whispered. They still sat in the car, but couldn’t see any of the creatures nearby. “We’ve got to run,” she said, “Now. Get out and follow me. If you see one, tell me. Whisper. Don’t yell.”
“Claudia, I don’t,” He started, but she was already outside. The purple sky was thicker now, the sun disappearing over the horizon. How quick before they saw the first popolac? Or even worse, the first grave digger? There were more of them here, he knew. They would be more numerous than the occasional scout had been back west. He stepped out of the car and chased Claudia as she raced across the side walk. He tried to think about his abilities, tried to remember how to use his essence to move objects or start fires in case he had to try to defeat one of the large creatures. Jesus, he thought, what if we had been given the wrong address?
The ground shook as they reached the second block, halfway to where the directions had lead. Ralph knew it wasn’t an artillery shell this time. It was a popolac, a close one. He glanced around himself, but couldn’t see the creature. For some reason this terrified him even more, knowing the creature was close enough to shake the ground but nowhere in sight. He didn’t bother warning Claudia. She’d certainly feel the creature walking, too, and talking would only bring it closer.
It seemed that the stomping was moving further away, thankfully, as they reached the home with the bunker. Ralph hoped that Claudia would go inside the home, take a moment to recuperate in relative shelter before attempting to locate the door of the bunker. Instead she fled into the backyard. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck… Ralph thought. Could he be wrong about the popolac moving away? Could it be getting closer? Were they running toward it? Would it see them get in the bunker, if they found it? Had it already seen them? He chased her into the backyard, seeing no other option.
“Here,” Claudia whispered, picking up a large piece of plywood off the ground. Underneath it lay a concrete circle. She lifted it easily with her other hand despite it clearly weighing over a hundred pounds. “You first, get in,” she said.
Ralph stared into the blackness of the hole, wanted to shake his head no, saw Claudia’s commanding face, felt the stomping of the popolacs again, then quickly found the ladder inside the hole and climbed inside.
Claudia was behind him, and they descended into darkness. She lowered the concrete door and let the plywood sheet land on top, sealing them inside.